LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Mexican director Guillermo Del Toro is in talks to direct two films based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy novel "The Hobbit," entertainment press reported Monday.
Del Toro, best known for his Oscar-winning 2006 drama "Pan's Labyrinth," was on a shortlist of film-makers deemed capable of adapting Tolkien's story for the big screen, the Hollywood Reporter said without indicating its sources.
The film of "The Hobbit" will be one of the most eagerly anticipated films in years following New Zealand director Peter Jackson's three phenomenonally successful "Lord of the Rings" movies.
Jackson is to act as executive producer on the two "Hobbit" films, which will be shot back-to-back in 2009 before release in 2010 and 2011, according to studio backers New Line and MGM.
The Hollywood Reporter described Del Toro as having "a deep love for the source material and an assured grasp of fantasy film-making," making him the logical choice to direct a project potentially worth billions of dollars.
"The Hobbit" is set in Middle Earth and is generally regarded as a prelude to the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy.
The book tells the story of how the hobbit Bilbo Baggins sets off on a quest accompanied by 13 dwarves and Gandalf the wizard to confront the dragon, Smaug, who has accumulated a massive treasure trove inside the Lonely Mountain.
The adventures include the tale of how Bilbo takes possession of the magic ring at the center of the later "Lord of the Rings" books, when he discovers it by chance in Gollum's lair.
An animated television film of "The Hobbit" was released in the United States in 1977, and included veteran director John Huston providing the voice for Gandalf.
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